Beauty of a Ninja
by XoXBeautifulDisgraceXoX
Summary: After a battle with Itachi, Kakashi is traumatized who better to help him then his long time friend Asuma? R&R PLEASE? It'd be veryy helpful
1. Chapter 1

"**We were lucky."  
**

"**Heh?"  
**

**Near the door, the woman looked up in surprise as the uncomfortable silence that had been stretching out between them was finally broken. She had been wanting to say something to break it for some time now, but had suddenly found herself unwilling to.**

**Strange, that.**

**She couldn't recall ever having felt uneasy about their silences. Asuma was a contemplative man by nature, which was why he had taken such a strong liking to Shikamaru after receiving him with his assigned students. It was probably also why the third had assigned Shikamaru to him as well.**

"**This morning."  
**

"**Oh."  
**

_**/Lucky, huh?/**_

"**I suppose you're right. Ever since then... They no longer place any emphasis on combative tactics against the Sharingan in the Academy. And since the jounin and chuunin never encounter any... We've all forgotten the rules. For once Gai's ridiculous obsessions turned out to be an invaluable asset."  
**

"**Heh. Don't tell him that. He'll be insufferable."  
**

"**I suppose he will..."  
**

**The silence trailed on after that, and she sighed mentally. Asuma's gaze was constantly going between the photo on Kakashi's night stand and the man lying prone in the bed as though he couldn't make sense between the two.**

**The third child was Kakashi, and the first child she recognized... but the one in the middle... Was this the Obito they had mentioned before?**

**Kakashi had said he was buying an offering, which meant whoever he was, Obito was dead. And Asuma either was close enough to Kakashi to know about this, or had known Obito as well and so understood the loss even more.**

**It was always discouraging to be on the outside. But that was the perpetual life of a female ninja. No matter how a woman trained, her body would always be weaker than a man's, which meant she had to specialize in genjutsu really in order to make it. And it was the fate of a genjutsu specialist to always be struggling to master newer, more complex techniques because once you hit an opponent who could counter the ones you had, you lost.**

**It was the way of the female ninja: always fighting and striving to keep your footing inside a very elite men's club that regarded strength as the greatest asset of a ninja.**

**She'd certainly lost hold of that footing today, using the technique that she had on a Sharingan user. And worse still: letting him watch her use that technique so that he could copy it. She should have used a better cloak technique first to hide herself and then perform the seals for the capture technique.**

**But...**

"**No offense, Kurenai..."  
**

**Startled, her crimson eyes darted over to the desk where Asuma had been sitting, as he rose and stretched his arms out, popping each of his shoulders before he continued.**

"**But now that Gai's left as well and the Anbu are making certain Itachi doesn't make it back into Konoha, I really need to get Kakashi out of the rest of those wet clothes before he ends up with a case of pneumonia."  
**

"**Of course."  
**

**She didn't comment on how strange it was that neither Gai nor Asuma had considered taking Kakashi to the medical facilities instead of back to his room, or that neither of them had made a move to remove his shozoko after they arrived here... It was just another one of those men's club things which she wasn't supposed to know about, and which asking about would only keep her further away from.**

**She just stepped outside and closed the door behind her.  
**

**Asuma watched the closed door for several moments longer, before crushing his cigarette against the windowsill and walking over to the bed where his comrade lay motionless.**

"**You almost had it there, didn't you..."  
**

**Kakashi didn't answer, which was answer enough.**

**It was painful, to stand here and look down at his friend whom he'd always admired and aspired to, and see something completely foreign to him. He couldn't recall ever having actually seen Kakashi lose, and he - along with everyone else - had certainly heard the stories circulated by his former Anbu comrades about Kakashi's genius.**

**A genius who hadn't had a finger laid on him, and yet was neither well, nor suffering: just lying here in a slumber that did not seem all that restful.**

**So this was the aftereffect of the psychological attacks of a Sharingan user.**

**It made him almost afraid of what Sasuke might become.**

"**I know you hate this, which was why I waited until we were alone. But now you'll just have to deal with it." He murmured softly as he pulled the blankets back and sat down on the side of the bed, revealing the lean, black-clad body that lay beneath them.**


	2. Chapter 2

** font face"Monotype Corsiva" color"#3BFC02" size"3" "I'll have the head of the medical squad breathing down my neck for bringing you back here in the first place, so it just won't do for you to get even sicker with no one to blame but me."  
**

**Could Kakashi even hear him? He didn't give any sign that he could, but it made him feel easier to tell him what he was doing instead of just doing it without his permission. Reaching up, his fingers tugged through the course silver hair, matted down slightly by the weight of the river water and sludge. Kakashi always had such a clean appearance... He may not take pride in his looks, but he took pride in his cleanliness both after and during missions.**

"**You're such a slob today..."  
**

**No, he couldn't hear him. If he could, there would have been something... Something more than just that abnormal pallor on his cheeks, and the dark circles beneath his eyes as though he had gone through some horrendous ordeal.**

**It was only a second...**

_**/I'll show you the true power of the Sharingan blood limit./**_

**Only a second, and now Kakashi's limp body was lolled against his chest as he pulled him up and supported him in a seated position so that he could pull his damp shirt up over his head. Even that time... Kakashi had never lost consciousness on a mission before that he could recall.**

**Even that time...**

**His head dropped forward of its own volition, and nuzzled into the crook of Kakashi's neck where it met his shoulder. His skin was cold and clammy to the touch, which made him wonder if he shouldn't give him a hot bath before dressing him in dry clothes.**

**Of course, Kakashi would detest being bathed even more than he would already detest being changed... But he didn't have much say in this just now. It would of course make for excellent leverage after he woke up.**

_**/Hey Ka-chan... You remember that time when.../**_

**He sighed, and with half-lidded eyes let his lips nibble along Kakashi's collarbone. He still tasted the same... He even smelled the same... His shoulders felt a little broader... The bones of his back a little sharper... Just a little sexier...**

**The dummy...**

**Was it really possible for someone who read as much porn as this man did, to not know what it was that made a man sexy? He really thought his scars made him look ugly... incompetent... weak... Really, he was almost as superficial as a woman when it came to them, but he was so wrong. They were what made him more beautiful than anything else. Letting his hands roam up along the bare back he held close, Asuma closed his eyes and sighed again.**

**The beauty of a ninja. /font **


	3. Chapter 3

**The thin, sunk in slivers of skill, left behind by an artful dodge which had turned a fatal blow into a glancing scratch... Kakashi had many of these. Small silvery white lines which weren't even visible in his pale skin unless you really tried to look for them but whose silken feel his rough fingers recognized.**

**Then there were the thicker, raised scars of dense pink tissue from deep, penetrating blows. The agonizing, debilitating kind which could be fatal by themselves, or which could cause so much pain that you could no longer dodge the incoming fatal blow. Kakashi had these as well, and they only made him seem stronger... braver... He knew what pain was, and yet had the will to overcome it and persevere.**

**Then there were the invisible scars... The scars that made him buy offerings every day... The scars that had made him the harshest jounin instructor who failed all of the students who tested with him... The scars that made him hide everything that he was behind masks, trashy books that no one could take seriously, and casual tardiness.**

**It was these scars that he didn't show anyone that made him weak... vulnerable... and oh so beautiful...**

**Then there was his scar...**

**He tilted his head to the side and let his lips brush along Kakashi's neck until just below the slant of his jaw. That was where he had left it: his scar. The small perfectly round, slightly raised, silky pink tissue from where he had angrily jabbed his cigarette out and called him 'Whore-ass Hatake.'  
**

**That day...**

**He'd gotten his own ass kicked afterwards, and with embarrassingly little effort on Kakashi's part... but it had been more than worth the several seconds of shocked silence as Kakashi did nothing more than turn and stare at him in slack-jawed amazement.**

**He'd always wondered what had shocked Kakashi more... Getting told off to his face, or having that cigarette put out on his neck.**

"**I never did apologize for this... did I?" He murmured softly. Kakashi couldn't hear him right now, but maybe... Maybe he would apologize for it afterwards. They had more than made up since then, but now that he remembered not apologizing, it was nagging at the pit of his stomach.**

**In any case, he was starting to get a bit of a chill himself from holding his friend. That hot bath was probably more than just a good idea, but a necessity now.**

"**You can hate me after you recover, but for now, we need to keep those balls of yours from turning a permanent shade of blue and falling off. The village women might be forced into an irrecoverable state of mourning over the loss."  
**

**Laying the ninja back down against the bed, he frowned slightly. Kakashi's pale abdomen was unnaturally so, and tinged a slight shade of bluish purple.**

_**/Damn... I should have made Kurenai leave sooner.../**_

**With a swift movement, he peeled off the other jounin's trousers and discarded them off to the side with his other wet clothing. He would hang them up to dry later. Right now, he needed a tub... Kakashi would definitely not appreciate being carried naked and unconscious to one of the hot baths, bathed helplessly in front of all of the other villagers, and then carried back across town to his room.**

**Yes, that would definitely be at the top of Kakashi's list of reasons to violently kill someone.**

**Standing, he peered out the window, and focused his chakra until he picked up on the location of the Anbu squad member Gai had sent for. The man was good... Even knowing where he was, he couldn't see him. But the Anbu was more than able to see him from his vantage point, which was going to have to be good enough. He signaled briefly in his direction that he was going downstairs for several minutes before drawing the blinds and slipping out. If any other chakra approached that room, the Anbu would deal with him.**

**Provided he wasn't the type of perv who stopped dead at the sight of a naked Kakashi lying sprawled and vulnerable across his bed...**

**That would probably stop even a would-be assassin come to think of it... He would have to try and remember that one to jibe at Kakashi later: the answer to world peace is to have Kakashi walk around naked wherever people are quarreling.**


	4. Chapter 4

** font face"Monotype Corsiva" color"#3BFC02" size"3" "Oi, Asuka-san," He rapped lightly on the top of the door frame as he stepped into the boarding house kitchen where the landlady was busily doing her dishes at the sink. "I'm going to borrow this tub for a bit."  
**

"**Oh?" The elderly woman paused and dried her hands on her dish towel before turning around to face him. "Good. I heard that Kakashi took a dunk in the river after a bad fight... Make sure he warms up nice and is good and dry before going to bed. He's so careless sometimes... I'll leave some soup on the stove for him too, though he probably will insist he doesn't need it. You boys..."  
**

"**Eh..." He smiled as he hoisted the tub up, though he couldn't bring himself to sound as light as she did. News spread quickly throughout this village - as with any other he was certain - whenever something happened, but apparently the Anbu had clamped down on the rumors of just how severe what had happened really was. "I'll make sure he does..."  
**

**Damn he needed a cigarette... He was a miserable liar, which was why he kept quiet so much of the time. Not to mention why he taught genin instead of doing undercover missions. Reaching over, he patted his jacket pocket until he found the one his cigarettes were in and pulled the box out.**

"**Shit... This would be the day I run out... wouldn't it?" He muttered darkly as he opened the door at the top of the stairs and re-entered Kakashi's room. "And shut up you."  
**

**Kakashi always mocked his habit. He said nothing now, but if he had been awake, he would have so he consoled himself with the retort as he placed the tub on the floor. Damn Kakashi and his asceticism... The only way to move around the room now was to either climb onto the walls or jump onto the bed... With his finances, you would think he might buy a nice home... Or at least rent a better room than this little thing.**

**Never mind though. A larger room wouldn't suit him.**

**A quick water seal and the bath was filled, and another fire seal to heat it. Pulling off his own shirt and jacket, he smiled slightly before picking up the limp jounin and sitting him in the tub, keeping one arm securely wrapped about his chest to prevent him from slipping and fully submerging himself. Kakashi's head lolled back limply against his shoulder, leaving his neck extended and so beautifully exposed.**

"**Brings back memories, doesn't it..." He couldn't really help the huskiness in his voice as he ran a finger along that pale throat, tracing the rise and fall of his Adam's apple. "Although, that time, **_**I**_** was the one in the tub..." Of course, he hadn't just sat there that time... He'd made full use of the circumstances to Kakashi's obvious consternation. He always got so pissed off about that sort of horseplay...**

"**Kakashi..."  
**

**But his friend didn't answer. Not with a fluttering lash, a muscle twitch, the catch in his breathing he normally got when his throat was caressed... Nothing. He just sat there in the bath, his submerged skin gradually turning a rosy shade of pink from the warmth of the water and the friction of the hand scrubbing him, with his arms semi-floating limply by his sides and his head lolled loosely back against the man supporting him.**

**Gai had said he was going after Sasuke, whom he was sure was going after Naruto, and Naruto was with Jiraiya... So surely... surely... Jiraiya would be able to help with this... As a sannin, he had to know more about the Uchiha techniques... In the very least, he might tell Gai where he could find her...**

**They were legendary... They had to know what had happened... Between Itachi making that threat, and that sudden strangled gasp from Kakashi an instant later... That gasp... He had been in pain; more pain that he had ever heard Kakashi admit to. Collapsing in front of Gai... Even the cold river water had done nothing to revive him.**

_**/What would you have done Asuma... If Gai hadn't been there... When Kakashi went under... Would you have opened your eyes to what Kakashi had sworn was certain death to try and save him...? Or would you have continued to stand there as dumbly as you did even after Itachi ordered your death?/**_

**Maybe Kakashi would forget that part...**

**Reaching up, he stroked that pale cheek gently with a single finger, leaving a damp trail of sudsy water. What had Kakashi been thinking, when he faced off with Itachi, apparently knowing what technique was about to be used? He said only a Sharingan user could combat that technique, but he hadn't done anything like combat.**

**He'd simply fallen over.**

"**You're not invulnerable, genius."  
**

**But there was no answer from those pale, colorless lips, so he pressed his own against them briefly. God they felt cold...**


	5. Chapter 5

** font face"Monotype Corsiva" color"#3BFC02" size"3" Standing, he lifted him up from the tub and held him against him as he dried him with a towel before dressing him in a dry haori and laying him back down in his bed. Somehow, he seemed almost paler now...**

**Beautiful...**

**But a knock on the door interrupted those thoughts.**

"**Asuma-san... The head medic is here... He wants to see Kakashi..."  
**

"**Of course."  
**

**He pulled his shirt and vest on quickly as he crossed the room and opened the door to allow the medic in.**

**Kakashi would have killed him otherwise...  
**

"**Mangekyou?"  
**

"**That was what he said... right before Kakashi told the both of us to close our eyes. He said only a sharingan user could combat that technique without dying." Taking the cup, he nodded slightly at the hostess before returning his attention to the blonde woman. "Itachi sounded vexed at first... But he said Kakashi would only be able to resist it for a while and then he said something about his not being able to resist it with the Tsukiyomi. It was right after he said that, that Kakashi collapsed."  
**

"**I see..."   
**

**Asuma paused, and studied the medical specialist silently. She had pursed her lips slightly when he had added that Tsukiyomi wasn't the only attack that had been used against Kakashi, and he had an ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach that this wasn't a good thing. Her brows were knit together in a pretty frown, and she was gnawing on the side of her thumb in consternation.**

"**This changes things." He finally spoke, annoyed with the silence she was treating him to when what he wanted was more information on what had happened so that he could start thinking about what to do to combat it.**

"**No."  
**

"**Oh?"  
**

**She sighed, and lowered her hands to her own drink. "There's nothing I can do for the Mangekyou. Really... there's nothing I can do for the Tsukiyomi either."  
**

"**But then..."  
**

"**How did I wake them up? That was the easy part." Tsunade's smile faded as she stared down at her tea. "Getting over the attack... There's nothing I can do for either of them... For Kakashi more so than Sasuke... And yet I worry about Sasuke more."  
**

**Lowering his glass, Asuma leaned forward, and waited for the newly appointed fifth to continue. Instead, she pulled out a deck of cards and began shuffling them idly, flipping one out to regard it every now and then. It wasn't until the sixth or seventh that she finally began speaking, shuffling and flipping the cards all the while.**

"**You know about psychological attacks?"  
**

"**Of course. What was taught in the academy." Was this annoyingly indirect woman really a sannin? "They don't inflict any actual injury on your opponent but, when used right, you can terrorize them into believing you can inflict far more injury to them than you actually can. With proper skill, you get your opponent to forfeit with minimal chakra expenditures."  
**

"**Spoken like a jounin instructor."  
**

**His lip twitched slightly. "I had better."  
**

"**I suppose so. Your student passed, after all."  
**

"**How is the Tsukiyomi different?"  
**

**With a sigh, she placed the cards down on the table and laced her fingers together contemplatively. "The Tsukiyomi by itself isn't a painful technique; it's an emotionally debilitating one which suspends you in a time-free reality or a memory which doesn't allow you to fight them. Really, it's only so dangerous as the lives of the victim and the user. The more wretched each one's life has been, the more trauma the attack has to drawn on from its victim's subconscious mind. I've heard about Itachi and Sasuke's past relationship, so I'm sure of what happened with him... His ability to overcome this is going to rely heavily on how much he trusts Kakashi and his friends. But an experienced ninja like Kakashi... I'd have him forcibly retired as the moronic ninja of the century if he couldn't get over a simple attack like the Tsukiyomi."  
**

"**Then the Mangekyou is no ordinary psychological attack."  
**

"**It activates the pain receptors of the brain."  
**

"**Pain... receptors...? But physical pain is the primary way to dispel illusionary techniques... How could a psychological attack inflict it without canceling itself out?"  
**

"**It's not a psychological attack per say... It's a Sharingan attack. Only the Uchiha clan could ever use such an attack. Its misuse was what led them to be so feared. The Mangekyou doesn't just create an illusion of suffering. It allows them to mentally kill their victim. Once the mind believes it has been killed, it goes into shock and ceases its neural transmissions. The first things to fail are the heart and lungs."  
**

"**Then those stories..." Asuma frowned at the tea leaves settling in the bottom of his cup. "About the Uchiha having such fearsome eyes that people would drop dead at the mere sight of them..."  
**

"**Aren't stories. They're fact."  
**

"**Then, that technique combined with the Tsukiyomi..." Asuma swore slightly. "He tortured him..."  
**

"**For as long as he felt like it. Kakashi murmured something about 'three days' when he woke up and finally gained enough of his bearings to respond to my questions... so..."  
**

"**Three days of physical torture in a second?"  
**

"**It could have been three weeks if Itachi had felt like it. Or it could have ended with Kakashi's death." She replied evenly to his shocked question.**

"**Such a technique... It's almost inhuman..."  
**

"**It is inhuman. It's a bloodline limit technique, which is why us mere mortals can do nothing to counter it. I doubt that even a Sharingan user would be able to free himself in it. He might have more control over what happens inside the world of the Tsukiyomi, but he would still be trapped there until one of them grew too tired to continue and was forced to seal their Sharingan."  
**

"**So the fighter with the greatest endurance wins..."  
**

"**Kakashi was foolish to bet your lives on his Sharingan."  
**

"**We would have all bet them to protect our students, and he knew that from the beginning. There was no betting. Just teamwork."  
**

"**I'm glad you look at it that way. You may have to make that same bet in the near future. Sasuke won't have the skill to put his Sharingan against Itachi's for a long time. And Kakashi will never have the endurance to hold out against Itachi's. He may never even have the guts to try it again."  
**

"**Don't underestimate him."**

"**I'm not. I'm impressed he fought off Itachi's attack. I'm impressed he was still coherent after Itachi's attack. And I'm impressed he didn't slip into an irrecoverable coma in the interim between his blacking out and my coming here. But that entire time... Sasuke's mind shut down after Itachi's attack. That's what's supposed to happen. It's a defense mechanism to protect the person against the trauma of the attack. Kakashi wouldn't let his shut down. These past days... He hasn't appeared restful to you, has he? His skin kept getting paler... his body thinner... the circles under his eyes darker... Itachi tortured him for three days, but instead of slipping out of it normally, Kakashi pushed it to the side to try and protect his students and his comrades, so when he lost consciousness he slipped right back into it."  
**

"**You can't mean..."** /font 


	6. Chapter 6

"**That he's been tortured for weeks now?" Tsunade sighed, her hands moving automatically to massage her temples. "And there's nothing I can do... All of his injuries... all of the agony... It was all realer to him than any other battle he's been in, but there's no relief to be found in any medicine I can give him. It's all burned into his memory. The next time he sees Itachi..."  
**

**Asuma's fists clenched by his side and he bit down on his lip in consternation. If all this were true, then the next time Itachi showed up, Kakashi would be rooted to the spot. He had noticed it when he walked with Kakashi to the baths a few hours after he'd woken that first morning... How stiff he moved, as though he couldn't stand the agony of some grievous abdominal wound... The way he had tentatively eased himself into the water as if the sulfur were stinging at numerous cuts... The limp lethargy in his eyes that said he was ready to give up on life and just roll over and die... Except he knew he had no wounds to speak of, and somehow that had seemed to exhaust him even more.**

**How did you heal a wound that wasn't there?**

"**Couldn't you remove those memories?"  
**

"**Wipe his mind? I may be a medical specialist, but that's not something you should ask so casually."  
**

"**If it's this bad..."  
**

"**It's as bad as Kakashi makes it. He's tough. Macho guys bounce back fast enough. If he's not, than Konoha's been handing out the title of ninja genius to any old idiot these days." She replied succinctly, then sighed. "Memory isn't a science... We may have some drugs that would wipe a day... maybe two... But they're still poisons. They could still kill him. To try and play with more... I might wipe out the past two weeks... or I might wipe out the past twenty years. Then what? I can't give anything back to him once it's gone."  
**

"**If he can't find a way to live on as a shinobi..." She paused, staring at the wall for a moment. "Then, I suppose if then, he can't find a way to live outside of the shinobi... Then I'll have no choice but to try anything I can. But right now... If there's even the slightest chance he can find a way to live any semblance of a normal life even with this... Playing with his memory would only put him at even greater risk."  
**

**It wasn't the answer he had been hoping for.  
**

**Cursing mentally, Asuma shook his head at the Anbu who was now perched atop Kakashi's windowsill, staring in masked, emotionless confusion at the two of them seated on the bed. The man glanced around the otherwise empty room once more, nodded, and retreated back into the night to his stationed vigil.**

**Damn it. Damn it dammit DAMMIT!**


	7. Chapter 7

"**Is he..."  
**

"**He's fine!"  
**

**Gai's eyebrows drew together in a slight reproach from where he stood in the doorway, but he said nothing more. Instead he crossed the room to the window which had been left open by the Anbu's sudden entrance, closed it, rearranged the blinds, and, after shooing the other two jounin who had been drawn to the room - as he had - by Kakashi's blood-curdling scream, closed the door.**

"**Asuma... The only person who was ever intended to defeat Kakashi was me. I'll trust you tonight to ensure I will still have that opportunity in the future." Then Gai stepped out of the room into the hall, and closed the door, leaving him alone on the bed with Kakashi.**

**Damn it!**

**Rivalries... Of all the things to worry about. And asking if he was fine... Of course Kakashi wasn't fine! Here he was, curled up like a baby against him, trembling uncontrollably. His night clothes and bedding were soaked with perspiration, and no matter how he tried to soothe him, his uncovered eye darted madly about the room, and his breathing came in strangled, wheezing gasps as he hyperventilated.**

**And there was nothing Konoha's famed sannin medical specialist could do about it.**

**Damn it!**

**Every time Kakashi dozed off in exhaustion, he awoke an hour or so later with one of those chilling shrieks, his body convulsing and contorting in pain... The first time, they had wound up with a full Anbu squad and a medical team here because they'd thought he'd somehow been poisoned by Itachi or one of his operatives unbeknownst to them. But an examination later, they concluded it was some sort of seizure brought on by the stress of the attack. The second incident had brought in half the jounin squad, since they had just gotten out of a meeting and half had scattered looking for Itachi, while the other half convened here expecting the worse.**

**That was when Tsunade-sama had asked exactly what had happened with Itachi and they had all come to realize the extent of the damage done.**

**Even Ibiki had grown silent...**

**When the Anbu interrogation Captain - a man who had achieved such rank not so much for his skills at interrogation - which were substantial - but for his own experiences and unique insights as the subject of such interrogations - cannot fathom your pain...**

**He was sure others had heard Kakashi this time as well, only they chose to keep a respectful distance from him and leave him some dignity, knowing that if there were any such emergency they should respond to, the Anbu guard would alert them instantly.**

"**Kakashi..."  
**

**His voice was choked as he tightened his arm about the man, and pulled him closer to try and stop his spasms by anchoring him against his own body. He was so tense... He could feel it in the taught muscles of his abdomen, and in the way he kept trying to double over which each gasp; it was as though he were in some kind of inscrutable pain.**

**The frightful thing was that he only thought that he was, and somehow those thoughts were enough to make his body react like this. This time was better than the last... Kakashi didn't flinch when he was touched, which showed he was at least aware that he was in no pain, and yet it was still so incredibly disheartening to see.**

"**It's alright now... It's over... It's alright..."  
**

**What the Hell had Itachi done? Eviscerate him? With a blender?**

**If that man were to show up in Konoha tonight, Jiraiya and Tsunade would probably be the only ones with the guts to face off against him right now. Everyone else was far too unnerved by the sounds of Kakashi's screams and the helpless sight he cut. And even they might decide to cut their losses and run off together into the sunset of bars, spas, and casinos.**

"**... h... e..."  
**

"**He's not here... It's alright... He's gone..."  
**

**He soothed, and crooned, letting his hands rub up and down the back that quivered against him. It was only because they were alone this time that Kakashi allowed himself to be held like this... When the medical team was there, Kakashi pushed him off and forced himself to push those memories from his mind to try and appear calm. Only, pretending it wasn't real didn't help him cope with the reality that it had seemed to him. He had tried to pretend it didn't matter when he was first hit with this attack, and that was what Tsunade thought had done him in. **

**Just like when Obito...**


	8. Chapter 8

**So he held him close, and petted his hair, and waited for this emotional overload to work its way out of Kakashi's system. They were alone, and Kakashi knew that, or he would have shoved him away yet again and blustered up enough strength to pretend he was fine. Now he buried his face against Asuma's chest while his breath came in wheezing gasps, which gradually calmed and gave way to soft bleating sobs of exhaustion. Asuma stroked the damp hair, and pulled Kakashi's pale cheek against his, and whispered every soothing word of comfort he could think of into his ear. The painful convulsions became twitching spasms, and the twitching spasms became soft sobbing hics, until finally Kakashi became aware enough of his surroundings to wrap his arms back around the one holding him and clutch at him as though his very life depended on his ability to hold on.**

**Only now Asuma couldn't fully push from his mind the appeal of the body that was currently pulling him close... The mingled, exciting smells of shampoo, sweat, and body heat...**

**The arm snaked about Kakashi's waist shifted slightly, allowing his hand to slide up under his shirt and grip Kakashi firmly by his waist. The taut muscles twitched and rippled beneath his fingers with each spasming breath the jounin took, only now there was something different underlying them all. It wasn't just pain anymore...**

**His fingers trembled for a moment before he seized Kakashi by his shoulders and hurled him back against the bed's mattress. Kakashi didn't flinch... didn't fight back... He didn't even bat an eye at him as he pinned him down against the tousled sheets. He wanted to coddle Kakashi... He wanted to cradle him like he had been doing all night long...**

**But he was Kakashi's best friend now.**

**What he wanted to do for Kakashi, and what Kakashi wanted him to do for him were two very different things, and he respected him enough to put aside fond urges.**

"**Damn it Kakashi! Do you have any idea how stupid you look right now!"  
**

_**/How irresistible you look to me.../**_

"**How stupid you make me look coddling you?!"  
**

_**/How stupid you make me feel getting excited over coddling you.../**_

"**How stupid everyone in Konoha feels that our village would look to the world if they found out that our best ninja can't stop crying himself to sleep at night!"  
**

_**/They wonder that you wont sleep alone... And don't believe it's not that type of sleeping together.../**_

"**Where has your pride gone?! Where have you gone?! Would you just answer me? Answer me!"  
**

**But he didn't, and Asuma's head dropped down, his forehead coming to rest against the other man's shoulder. Had he yelled at him too soon? Should he have given into his own desires and held him like that for longer? He bit down on his lip, trying to keep in everything that wanted to come out, but that he couldn't allow, even though his hand wandered up from Kakashi's waist, idly undoing the buttons of his nightshirt as it made its way up.**

**It wouldn't do.**

**That warm skin... Tensing under him... Teasing against him... Toned abdominals arching upwards towards his fingers as they groped their way about...**

**They had a great friendship just as things were, and that was always dictated by what Kakashi wanted.**

**Beautifully sloped shoulders... melting into slim, sculpted biceps as he pushed the sleeves down and off... Strong... sturdy... yet small enough to cuddle under his own broader ones...**

**None of what he felt would do because Kakashi wouldn't acknowledge it in the way he really wanted him to. The long-term way... Kakashi's life was a carefully disciplined farce, and no one was allowed to do anything that might disrupt the chaotic order he used to replace Obito.**

"**Kakashi..."  
**


	9. Author's note

Hey people thank you for all the people who have read it thus far I'm not posting the next chapter untill i get some more feedback than just from one person (though greatly appreciated) So just take the 10 seconds it takes to post a reveiw mmk ? Thanx!!!!!


	10. Author's note 2

Hey people gratzi (thank you ) for the reviews !!! I feel so loved lo, anyway the next chapter is full of lemonney good ness hope you like !!!


	11. Chapter 9 End

**His head turned of its own accord, bringing his scar to his lips. His scar... The one part of Kakashi that could be possessed by him in all its entirety, without Kakashi ever denying it.**

**His scar... Under his tongue... under his teeth...**

**This was where Kakashi normally chose to stop him, as though he had been carefully considering everything leading up to this point. But this time, the jounin didn't reprimand him in that offhanded, casual way of his that wasn't really a 'no' but more of a 'not now.'  
**

**This time Kakashi's fingers found their way to the back of his head, laced through his hair and, despite its shortness in length, tugged at it and pulled Asuma's mouth up to his own.**

**Was he possessed? Delirious? Aroused beyond reason?**

**He would never be the one to say no, and so tilted his head as Kakashi wished, letting the silent jounin pull his mouth where he wanted.**

**Almost.**

**Kakashi may have decided to play pretend, but he was still in charge here, and Kakashi would beg before he gave in. Instead of kissing him, he slid his lower lip against Kakashi's upper one tauntingly and was rewarded by the tense flexing of those fingers at the base of his skull, which tore at his hair and tugged his head down so that he could bite at the offending mouth.**

"**Mmm..." Asuma moaned softly, and turned his attention to that thinner upper lip, running his lips over it, lipping it between them... Gently pulling and teasing that one whose sensual curve Kakashi seemed to derive some perverse pleasure from always hiding behind a mask. He hid everything behind that mask...**

"**I bet..." He clamped Kakashi's lower lip gently between his teeth to hear that little almost gasp of a breath... "You started wearing that shozoko of yours when you were a kid..." That delectable corner of his mouth... Not a kiss... not a bite... but the immense pleasure of silken lips brushing close enough to his to make his imagination run rampant... "... just to stop the girls from chasing you and kissing you..."  
**

**That derisive little huff of Kakashi's - the one he made when you were right but he wanted you to think he thought you were ridiculous anyway - and he gave in, letting those hands pull their mouths together. Then smiled as he pulled back, enjoying the slightly startled look of disappointment in Kakashi's eyes when his attempt to deepen the kiss had failed.**

**That warm tongue... running over his lower lip when they had kissed...**

"**Don't tell me you think I'm that easy?" Of course Kakashi did... He knew how to work his way into any situation, and that included anyone's pants. He knew... He might play coy and ask softly for what he wanted, but it was always a demand.**

**How could he deny that more than once?**

"**I'm not Iruka... Whore-ass..." He huffed lightly into that soft silver hair that fell down against that pale neck before moving back up to those beautiful lips. Kakashi didn't even feign anger and hold out from his kiss the way he had just done. He locked on almost violently, his tongue lashing his with a forceful confidence. This was his Kakashi... Sexy and forceful... and so vulnerably strong... The perfect little paradox...**

**He moaned and had to struggle to break Kakashi's grip in order to pull back from the kiss. Now this was how sex was supposed to be... No crying... no ardent pleas for declarations of undying love... Even if for Kakashi it was a game to push other thoughts out of his mind...**

**It was still his mouth... on Kakashi's throat... That beautiful, bare throat...**

"**You need to shave you lazy bastard." He gasped as he writhed under the tickling ministrations of lips and facial hair along his neck and collarbone.**

**Asuma grinned as he pulled back from his nibble, only long enough to pull his shirt up over his head and send it flying across the room. "And lose the powers of sexual prowess endowed upon me by my manly scruff? Never."  
**

**To hear Kakashi's voice just now... Sounding as it normally did... He would have complied with any request.**

**Within reason. **

"**Sexual prowess? All I see is desperate stalling for time..." Kakashi yelped slightly as Asuma's teeth sank into his collarbone with more force.**

"**Oh?" Reaching down, he hurriedly undid the bandages around his thigh, being careful to knock the concealed capsules and shuriken over the side of the bed and not onto the bed, before he discarded his trousers by the bedpost with the rest of his clutter. "If your expectations are that low, then why don't you just cover your Sharingan back up... If you're so sure you wont be learning anything new."  
**

"**More stalling..." Kakashi muttered, one hand pulling Asuma's to his mouth where his lips and teeth worried at the thick, calloused fingers, while the other undid the knot on his own trousers. "It's a bad omen when the top is naked first... Should I make other plans for five minutes from now?"  
**

"**Hmph. You're already booked solid for the night."  
**

"**Oh? Is Jiraiya coming over?"  
**

**Asuma frowned slightly, and bit down on one of Kakashi's nipples, hard enough to draw a muffled groan. "Jiraiya, huh...? You must be getting old if you're getting into senior citizens now..." Then with a kiss, he let his mouth trace along one of the scars along Kakashi's side, following it down his rib cage to just above his pelvic bone. Kakashi's trousers already felt damp beneath his hand as he massaged him through the material, and his smile widened.**

_**/I'm the only one who gives you this.../**_

"**You don't... want... that..."  
**

"**Jiraiya?" His eyebrow arched slightly as he smirked. Kakashi was out of breath and squirming beneath his handiwork, he noted smugly, which left him rather unable to complete his own sentence. "If that's what you want... Then I'll go get him. Just wait here."  
**

**The stunned look on Kakashi's face would have made a fortune if he'd gotten a snapshot of it.**

**The subsequent stunned look on his own face however, as he crossed the room towards the door in semi-jest, and heard the half-muttered seal behind him, would have outsold it by far, as Kakashi's first clone - oh naked clone! - dealt him a swift jab to the abdomen, which was followed by the second whipping him around and knocking him back onto the bed where Kakashi proceeded to straddle him.**

"**Jiraiya's notes can wait..."  
**

**Asuma grunted as Kakashi's hands gripped his hair tightly, and jerked his head up and forward into a violent kiss with his, leaving his own hands free to slid down over the bare backside above him. He couldn't resist giving that bare ass a good slap, and the man groaned and strained his arousal against his abdomen in response.**

"**I suppose he'll have to seeing as how you can't."  
**

**Just a few minutes more... His fingers slid lower, and he was startled to encounter slick wetness. He was definitely going to have to ask Kakashi about this instantaneous lubing technique of his... Now there was a handy jutsu to master...**

"**Whore-ass."  
**

"**This coming from Konoha's number one pimp?"  
**

"**That's Master Pimp to you." He husked as he flipped Kakashi back over onto his back and pulled him on top of him.**

**God this hadn't changed.**

**That sudden softness in Kakashi's dark eye as he strained and writhed upon him... The heated flush that colored his cheeks... The softer, sensual moans and gasps separated by excruciating pauses as he sucked in each breath and held it there for what seemed like impossibly long stretches of time...**

**This was Kakashi at his sexiest...**

**And this was the Kakashi who vanished the fastest...**

**He didn't even remember it ending - damn he must be getting old too then if orgasm was starting to knock out his memory - but it obviously had. Kakashi was lying on his side facing the wall with his back towards him, and he was staring up at the ceiling, a half-finished cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.**

"**You can go home now."  
**

**He started at the soft whisper and was about to protest, then thought better of it. As much as Kakashi always seemed to love sex with him, he still seemed to feel a guilt-ridden shame afterwards. At least now, the clear expression that had been in his dark eyes showed that he'd thrown off those last remaining hazes left behind by the Tsukiyomi.**

"**Eh? Sure. See you tomorrow."  
**

**Damned whore-ass. Give him some good sex and he's the invulnerable genius copy ninja again.**

**When the door had closed behind him though, Kakashi remained where he was, lying naked on his side, his dark eyes staring hollowly through the wall before him and into someplace else...**


End file.
